Another Trump Whopper: This One on Social Security

Since immigration is a key issue for Donald Trump’s Presidential campaign, we knew it was only a matter of time before one of the biggest Social Security myths would work its way into campaign rhetoric – and so it has, in a new Trump for President campaign ad:

As we’ve reported many, many times, undocumented workers do not receive Social Security benefits. In fact, because they don’t have legal Social Security numbers what frequently happens is they end up contributing but not collecting:

“Stephen C. Goss, the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration, has reported that unauthorized immigrants contributed about $12 billion a year to Social Security, adding an estimated $300 billion over the years to the Social Security trust fund. During the most recent attempt to reform our immigration system in 2007, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)estimated granting permanent status would generate $57 billion in additional revenue over a decade.”

Fact checkers took a look at the new Trump campaign ad and came to the same conclusion, earning Trump his 42nd “Whopper” ranking:

“The Republican presidential nominee makes a bizarre claim that undocumented immigrants will collect Social Security under a Clinton presidency. In general, people in the United States illegally are not eligible to collect Social Security benefits. They must be granted some type of lawful status — either by obtaining legal status or being granted deferred action. Even then, it’s not accurate to say they are “skipping the line.” People who obtain lawful status under DACA need to work for at least 10 years, pay taxes and reach retirement age before they are eligible to receive Social Security benefits.

Trump has already earned 41 Four-Pinocchio ratings. We would have liked to see the nominee finally stick closer to the facts in his first general-election ad. Unfortunately, this ad is — to borrow a line from its script — “more of the same.” The broad assertion in this ad is just not supported by facts, and thus earns Four Pinocchios.”

You can read more about what Immigration reform means for Social Security in our Issue Brief. Here are some basics:

As legal status is granted to current undocumented immigrants, allowing workers to step out of the shadows, contributions to the Social Security program will increase. The CBO estimated that reform would increase the growth of the economy by as much as 1.3 percent.

Social Security trustees project that an increase in immigration of 100,000 persons a year would improve the long-term actuarial balance of the Social Security’s trust fund by about 3.5% of the projected 75-year deficit.

The immigrant population, in particular undocumented workers, is very young. In fact 59% arebetween 25 and 44 years of age. History has shown that their children, as legal second- generation Americans, would make measureable contributions to our nation and economy. A Pew research study of the 20 million adult U.S.-born children of immigrants shows that these adult children have median incomes and homeownership rates similar to the general U.S. population. In fact, second generation adult children of immigrants have a lower poverty rate and higher college graduation rates. All of these demographic factors are potentially good – not bad – news for Social Security.